1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a thermoplastic resin composition and a thermoplastic resin laminate, each having an excellent mat property. Further, the present invention relates to a matting agent for thermoplastic resins. Still further, the present invention relates to a method for matting thermoplastic resins.
2. Description of the Related Art
The term "acrylic resin" as used hereinafter is intended to have the meaning of both acrylic resin and methacrylic resin.
Molded products of a thermoplastic resin such as an acrylic resin, polyvinyl chloride resin, and ABS resin generally have gloss or luster which has been understood to be an important characteristic for certain applications. On the other hand, there are many applications in which the gloss is not required, or glossless or mat products are preferred.
Conventional methods for matting a thermoplastic resin are divided roughly into method (1) in which an embossing or mat finish is applied, and method (2) in which an inorganic or organic matting agent is added. Method (1) is inferior in productivity and processing expense, and insufficient in the mat effect; thus this method is unsuitable in many instances for the applications where a fabrication of a resin is required to be conducted, while it is advantageous in that the deterioration in the physical properties of the resin is generally small. In contrast, method (2) involves a big problem of deteriorating the physical properties, while it is advantageous in that the decrease in productivity is small, the extent of the mat finish can be controlled, and this method can be used even for applications where fabrication is conducted. In particular, when an inorganic material such as a silica gel is used as a matting agent, the resin will deteriorate considerably in impact resistance, tensile strength and elongation.
On the other hand, another method is disclosed in Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 56-36535 in which an organic material, particularly, a high polymeric matting agent is used. Specifically, a cross-linked polymer prepared by a suspension polymerization and having an average particle diameter of 35 to 500 .mu.m is used in this publication. However, the method using the high polymeric matting agent mentioned above produced insufficient matting effect while the deterioration of impact resistance, and tensile strength and elongation was small.